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On the night of 16 February 2020, Storm Dennis hit the village of Nantgarw in the Rhondda Cynon Taf area of Wales.
The residents of Nantgarw were roused from their sleep by the sound of water pouring into their homes.
Flood levels rose at an alarming rate, trapping people in their homes and leaving little time to save precious belongings.
It would be even longer before any sense of normality returned to the community.
Listen to residents describe how that night unfolded.
As daylight broke, hundreds of people were evacuated by the emergency services and taken to nearby refuge centres.
Meanwhile, water and sewage continued to pour into people’s living rooms, kitchens and bathrooms, in some cases reaching the ground floor ceiling.
When residents returned the next day to evaluate the damage, they were shocked by what they found.
A little over a month later, Covid lockdowns began across the UK.
The community was dispersed, staying in nearby temporary accommodation or with friends and family.
They were unable to make any progress on repairs or arrange urgent building work. Damaged homes sat empty for months.
Their lives were completely on hold.
Rachel’s home was submerged in over four feet of water. She lost treasured possessions given to her by her grandparents. Thankfully, her father’s ashes were retrievable.
Emily was in her final year at university when Storm Dennis hit, making it hard to focus on her studies. When she had to leave home for a university placement a week later, she felt anxious about what might happen to her family and their home.
After being woken by the flood, Dawn and her husband immediately brought their two dogs upstairs. “There was nothing we could do but wait.” Dawn lost a treasured cookbook, filled with handwritten recipes from her mother who died when she was young.
Ron is the chairman of the Taff’s Well Lawn Bowling Club, which was submerged during the flood. He’d seen flooding before, but nothing like Storm Dennis. The club’s bowling green ended up 10 feet underwater. “I’ve never known anything like it and I hope we’re never going to see it again,” says Ron.
Every flood is different, and the residents of Nantgarw still have a lot of questions about exactly what happened that night.
But the common thread among people affected by flooding is the long-term impact it has on them.
Precious belongings lost, the stress of ongoing insurance claims, a sinking feeling every time it rains – the water touches everything.
Listen to people describe the long-term impact of the flood.
Carol lost many items of sentimental value to the flood, including videos of her children’s Christmas concerts. Unfortunately, that was only the beginning. Her experience with her insurance company was a long and frustrating ordeal and at one point, she considered re-mortgaging her house to pay for the repairs. “For a year I didn’t have any insurance because I didn’t know whether I could go through the process all over again,” she says.
To this day, Caroline can’t sleep when she receives a flood alert on her phone. When river levels have been particularly high, she’s moved precious items upstairs or driven her car to higher ground.
Wendy and Keith had to live on the upstairs floor of their house for months after the flood, which took its toll. Sadly, Wendy and Keith found themselves dealing with a different type of grief after Wendy’s father died suddenly in April 2020. “When you lose somebody there’s grief, but you also have this grief with the house which is about everything you’ve worked for.”
Despite the damage and devastation that Storm Dennis caused, the community of Nantgarw rallied together.
Neighbours that hadn’t spoken before became close, the local village hall opened its doors and Facebook groups were created for residents to stay in touch while they lived elsewhere.
Mike is the chairman of the Taff’s Well Village Hall, which became a pillar of support for the community in the aftermath of the flood. “I think the people who weren't affected by the floods really felt for the people who were – I think it brought the community together,” said Mike.
Rachel and Caroline had lived next door to each other for years, but only after Storm Dennis did their friendship blossom. “Since the flood we’ve all pulled together and it’s a really nice place to live,” says Caroline. “We love living here.”
In the aftermath of Storm Dennis, the British Red Cross has set up a new emergency response team based in the Rhondda Cynon Taf area.
When an emergency happens, our responders are there to support people immediately afterwards, whether they’ve been affected by a house fire, a terrorist attack, or a flood like the one the residents of the Rhondda Cynon Taf area experienced in 2020.
Volunteers like Ruth are there for people in the most distressing circumstances, offering them shelter and a change of clothes, or helping them contact relatives and find emergency accommodation.
“With our expertise in dealing with people in a distressed state, we’re able to calm and reassure them,” says Ruth, an experienced emergency response volunteer. “Every single incident, there’s something different to deal with.”
As the climate changes, incidents of flooding are on the rise across the country.
In 2021, British Red Cross staff and volunteers responded to 130 climate-related incidents in the UK, including flooding. With UK winters getting wetter, the risk of flooding is rising.
Despite these trends, British Red Cross research in 2022 found that the majority of people in the UK don’t know how high their risk could be, nor how to prepare themselves for a flood.
“We’re calling on national and local governments to work with communities to better prepare the public for flooding,” says Chris Davies, head of emergency planning and response at the British Red Cross.
“We need clearer information on what to do before, during and after a flood and we need to ensure communities fully understand the risk they face.”
The Rhondda Cynon Taf area remains at risk of flooding today. Each winter, as rain sets in, residents nervously monitor the nearby river as it swells.
“I think most people would say, ‘Well, why don't you just move? Why carry on living somewhere like that?” says Dawn. “I think what you have got to realise is that sometimes the people around you, the people you live near, are just more important.”
To learn more about how to prepare yourself for a flood, read and share our advice to make sure you and your community are prepared this winter.
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